Ally Hopewell and the Sorcerer's Stone
by VeraWhite
Summary: Ally's just a normal girl. No special talents or abilities. Just your every day run-of-the-mill witch. Or so she thought. When she meets the Boy-Who-Lived, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger on the train ride to Hogwarts, fate sets its course and destiny awaits as the four of them together discover the magic of friendship and love. Who said normal wasn't special? Read & Review!
1. Chapter 1

Ally Hopewell and the Sorcerer's Stone

_Introduction_

* * *

Ally Hopewell liked trains. A lot. She like them so much in fact that, for her fourth birthday she had asked her mum for a train. But not just any train, a big red one.

But now, years later, Ally thought she didn't like big red trains anymore, especially not ones that were going to take her far, far away from Dad.

She and Dad weren't that close anymore though, not since Mum died four years ago from Leukemia.

After Mum's passing, Dad didn't talk much anymore; he didn't come home for dinner or take her out to the park. It was like when Mum died, he did too.

But now, suddenly his cold demeanor and indifferent attitude seemed so much more pleasant than spending the next seven years stuck in a huge castle in the middle of nowhere.

But, she had no choice but to go, so here she was, on the infamous Platform 9 ¾ at Kings Cross Station; where her stony faced father was abandoning her, once again.

"Ally," He began, looking very awkward for once, "I do hope you have a… swell time at Hogwarts, remember to stay out of trouble, and do not forget; I am expecting top marks, you hear?" She only nodded vacantly and they once again settled into an uncomfortable silence.

"Well, I suppose we must get you boarded then," He picked up her trunk and owl, leaving Ally to carry only her small rucksack and her thin black briefcase given to her by her Mum as a joke all those years ago, because she, according to Mum, was "_much to serious and professional looking, just like your Dad…"_

Ally supposed she was a bit serious looking, but it wasn't her fault, being home schooled could do that to a person. Her parents thought it best if they hired a governess to care and educate her, as well as several tutors to make sure she became the best at all she did. Mum told her that since Dad's job as an Unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry could put them in danger, it was best not chance the risk at a Muggle primary school.

But even if she was serious looking, Ally was rather pretty for an eleven year old girl, whether she knew it or not; her skin was fair and her lips were thin, her wavy ginger hair was long and nicely framed her face, complimenting her bright olive green eyes.

Said olive green eyes were observing the bustling platform with mild curiosity and fear, she had never been around so many people before, and to be honest, it was quite… overwhelming.

But never the less, she took in the frightened and excited first years, the returning students who were greeting their friends, the occasional snogging couple, and the blubbering mothers and warm fathers, sad to see their children go.

She felt a pang in her heart that her Mum would never be able to see her off, or giggle girlishly when Dad would warn her about boys, or that she wouldn't send her letters to tell her about whatever, or Howlers when she did something bad. It hurt.

But, at least she had Dad, however cold or indifferent he may be, he would always be there for her, hopefully.

She distantly heard him clear his throat, and noticed he had already loaded her trunk and owl, Monty, onto the train.

Suddenly Ally didn't care that her Dad was emotionally awkward, he was _her Dad _and she deserved to have a proper goodbye with him, didn't she?

So, gathering all of her wits, she hesitantly wrapped her skinny arms around his large warm frame. She felt him freeze and her heart sunk, thinking he would end the hug, but he shocked her by, placing his large, strong arms around her thin little frame, lifting her up slightly by the tips of her toes.

The hug ended too soon as the clock struck four minutes to eleven, which was when the train would leave. Ally looked up, sad to go, but the look on Dad's face gave her the confidence to walk away and wave good bye.

Ally hurried onto the train and stormed into the first compartment she could find, barely registering throwing her trunk and briefcase onto the seat on the right as she pulled open the window with as much force as she could and stuck her head out. Quickly spotting her Dad, noticing him not noticing her, but scanning other open windows; she yelled as loud as she possibly could, "DAD! DAD!" he found her in mere seconds, and she began to wave frantically out the window as the clock struck eleven and the last of the students boarded, and the train began speeding away.

"Goodbye! Goodbye! Goodbye!" she yelled until Dad was no longer visible and Platform 9 ¾ was just a speck in the countryside distance.

She sighed wistfully and as she moved back to where she had unceremoniously thrown her belongings, she felt another in the compartment for the first time. A skinny little boy with brilliant green eyes and a lighting bolt scar.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you liked my new story and sorry about the cliffhanger, I didn't know how else to end it. Also, I'm terribly sorry about such a short chapter, but I hope it doesn't really count because it's only the introduction, and I promise to try to make the real chapters much longer, at least 1,000 words for a short one. And this chapter is like 800 words long, not counting the author's note, so feel free to hate me until next chapter, I guess. Please, please, please Read and Review!**

**I love all my readers whether you review or follow or favorite or not, it just means a lot already the fact that you've taken the time to read my story, and thanks so much for that! But it also helps the story get better (not to mention my self-esteem) when I hear feedback. You can write constructive criticism, you can just criticize, you can even write about how much you hate me and/or my story because this way I know something is wrong. When you flame, please be specific about what exactly you hate or greatly dislike. I don't mind. Be blunt! And honest, I like that in a person. **

**Well thanks again, super long authors note by the way, so sorry about that too; I just needed to get it all out m' dears. :D**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

Harry's POV

Harry was just about to ask Ron about the card which came with his chocolate frog, when a girl with bright red hair came bursting into their compartment, taking absolutely no notice of them, and threw her bags at Ron (which he caught with an 'oof!') and rapidly slid open their window and began yelling frantically into the crowd.

She seemed to be saying goodbye to her dad, and didn't take notice of her surroundings until the train had already sped away from the Platform, during which all that time Harry and Ron didn't say a single word.

She finally turned away from the window, sighing, and abruptly took notice of Harry, her light olive eyes clashing with his bright emerald green.

Harry could feel himself turn pink, she really was quite..._pretty._

"Um...Hello?" said Ron cautiously, obviously hoping not to get hit by anymore flying luggage, as he made himself small. She started, sincerely surprised since she had not seen the only other red head in the room.

"Oh! How do you do? I'm Allison Hopewell, but, you can call me Ally, everyone does anyways." she introduced with light Scottish lilt, smiling at the both of them brilliantly, causing Harry to sprout rosy red blotches on his cheeks and Ron's ears to burn. But Ally didn't seem to notice as she prattled on, "I'm truly, very sorry for storming in so suddenly, it was really, very quite rude of me and I should have checked to see if there was anyone in the compartment before just bursting in, in such a huffy manner and-"

"It's alright," interrupted Harry, hoping to put a cease to her rambling and calm her down, "and besides, we wouldn't mind it if you would like to stay, right Ron?"

"Right." mumbled Ron with a nod, his ears still rosy from before.

Ally looked at the both of them for bit before grinning at them softly, "Thanks!" She picked up her discarded bags and with the help of Ron (who quite tall and gangly) put them on the luggage rack with the others.

"So," began Ally, "who are you?"

Harry and Ron shared silent glances as Harry said, "I'm Harry, Harry Potter." Waiting for the usual eye flickering to his lightning bolt scar on his forehead when those words were uttered.

...

...

...Nothing.

Harry gaped as Ally moved on to a dumbstruck Ron with not even a glance into his general direction. He was confused. Maybe she was like him and had only just found out about magic until recently when he got his letter, and didn't know about him being a 'hero' and all. Yeah. That was probably it.

"So, what are you boys going to do with all this candy?" asked Ally, looking at mountains of sweets they had bought.

"If were you I would save it for later, because this is the only candy we'll be getting that's not ordered by owl because first and second years are not allowed to go to Hogsmead, a village near Hogwarts by the way, and Honey-dukes is the best candy shop there is, I've been there once with my mum when I was little and I could not believe how many chocolate frogs they had -it was unbelievable- I swear, when I'm a third year I'm going to every Hogsmead trip there is and stocking up on candy. At least I was able to sneak in some Sugar Quills for class, you can have some if you'd like, I hear that there's a class with a ghost that's quite a snooze so I think the sugar would help-"

So much for being raised by muggles.

"So wait," interrupted Harry, making Ally glance at him mid rant, "you don't live with muggles?"

"What?" said Ally confusedly, "No, both of my parents are wizards, William Hopewell and Celeste Prewett."

Now, it was Ron's turn to gape at her.

"Oi!" he exclaimed, startling them all, "That means we're related! My mum is Molly Prewett so we're second cousins or something." he said with a grin as Ally grinned back too.

"Brilliant," said Ally, turning back to Harry, "but, why do you ask?" He cleared his throat a bit awkwardly at her piercing green eyes, "Well, you're the first person I've met so far to not have a strange reaction to my name, so I thought that maybe you didn't know who I was."

"Oh no, I know very well who you are Mr. Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived and Savior of the Wizarding World and defeater of Voldemort." Ron flinched at the name nearly no one could say, and groaned, "Not you too..."

"Fear of a name only increases the fear of the thing itself, Ron." she remarked, and then continued with Harry, "And Harry, I thought that if I were in your position I wouldn't like it very much if everyone I met freaked out just because of something I did as a wee baby and a scar on my forehead. I wouldn't want people to assume they know everything about me just because they read it in some book they found at Flourish and Blots."

At that moment, while Ally was going on about how she wanted to meet him first before making any assumptions about him and how he really was just like every body else, Harry felt something spark inside him, because he finally met someone who understood.

* * *

Ally's POV

"Thanks Ally," said Harry, smiling softly at her as she grinned back the skinny bespectacled boy.

"So," she began with an impish grin, "do you mind if I take chocolate frog?" Harry and Ron grinned back at her, as Harry held out a box of her favorite sweet, and she didn't hesitate for one second before she took it out of his hand, and muttering a thank you, tore off the wriggling frog's head.

Yum.

It was good to have friends.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Harry take one of the very same candies she had asked for moments earlier and holding up a pack, ask,"What are these?" and looking at the label said, "They're not _really_ frogs, are they?"

"No," said Ron at the same Ally said, " Of course not."

"But see what card it is. I'm missing Agrippa."

"What?"

"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know– Chocolate Frogs have cards, inside them, you know, to collect– famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy."

Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card as Ally said to Ron, "Really! Five hundred! I've only got about four hundred, but I think I have Agrippa at home."

"So _this_ is Dumbledore!" said Harry just as Ron was begging Ally if she found another to give to him. She agreed.

"Don't tell me you have never heard of Dumbledore!" said Ron. "Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa –thanks–"

Harry turned over his card to read it as Ally opened another box of chocolate frogs. She heard him exclaim, "He's gone!" and she smirked at his surprise.

"Well, you can' expect him to hang around all day," said Ron. "He'll be back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've about six of her… do you want it? You can start collecting."

Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped.

"Help yourself," said Harry as Ally went back to unwrapping her third frog. "But you know, in the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos." Ally stared, dumbfounded.

"Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed. _"Weird!" _Ally nodded in agreement.

"Hey, Ron, I got another Agrippa ," Ally said, showing the card that came with her frog. Ron's eyes bulged.

"I'll trade you every card I already have a double of that I unwrap for that one!"

"No need, consider it a gift. But if you'd like I'll trade you for Morgana."

"Deal!"

Both Ron and Ally were more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards but Harry couldn't keep his eyes off them; which Ally found cute, how he seemed to be experiencing everything for the first time. He finally tore his eyes away from yet another card, to open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

"You want to be careful with those," Ron warned Harry. "When they say every flavor, they _mean_ every_ flavor_– you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a booger-flavored one once."

Ron picked up a green bean, inspected it carefully, and bit into a corner.

"Bleaaargh– see? Sprouts."

They had a good time eating the Every Flavor Beans. Ally though, seemed to have the worst luck in eating the beans, she got glue, caterpillar, wood, soap, grass, and even vomit. And was just about to give up until she finally got raspberry flavor one, and she almost cried with relief; much to amusement of Harry and Ron.

The countryside that was now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields were gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, an dark green hills.

There was a knock on the door of the compartment and round-faced boy came in. He looked tearful.

"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"

When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"

"I'm sure he'll turn up," said Ally, getting up, "If you'd like, I'll help you look for him..."

"Thanks," said the boy miserably, but brightening up a bit. "Well, if you see him…"

They left.

"I'm Ally by the way," said Ally, sticking her hand out for the boy to shake.

"N-Neville L-Longb-bottom," her stuttered, flushing scarlet as he shook her hand nervously.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you Neville, and don't you worry, we'll find your toad. Does he have a name by the way?" said Ally, hoping to ease the poor boy into conversation and calm him down.

"T-Trevor."

"Trevor! What a lovely name! I wish I had a toad," she said truthfully, much to Neville's astonishment.

"Really?"

"Really. Anyways, I find them really fascinating creatures, and I heard that magical toads are quite loyal, so I'm sure we'll find Trevor soon enough."

Neville smiled at Ally, "Thanks Ally," And they continued their journey in a comfortable silence. Aside from when they peeked into each compartment asking for Neville's lost toad.

The majority of the students they encountered were older than them, and were no help at all. Especially not the Slytherins who told them to scram.

Although one student, Hermione Granger, actually helped them. She was bit bossy and seemed like a know-it-all, but Ally liked her kind attitude and intelligent mind, and accepted quickly as a friend.

"How about we split up? That way we'll cover more ground in less time, and have a better chance of finding Trevor," suggested Hermione, after a few more unsuccessful compartments.

"Good idea Hermione! You go with Neville that way and I'll double back to see if we missed any compartments," said Ally, and they separated, each going their designated way.

Ally trailed back as she said she would but to no avail, no one had seen Neville's missing toad. She decided to go back Harry and Ron, when she began to notice more and more students in their Hogwarts robes.

She met up with a huffy Hermione and a still saddened Neville a few compartments away from the one she shared with the boys and accompanied them both to Hermione's compartment where she shared the few chocolate frogs she took with her from her compartment; successfully cheering up Neville a bit before leaving him with Hermione and travelling back to her own compartment.

She knocked on the door and asked, "Harry? Are you and Ron done changing?" Harry nodded, sliding the door open. "Okay, give me two minutes, I also need to change." And the boys stepped out into the corridor, giving her some privacy.

Once Ally had finished changing, a voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

Ally's stomach lurched with nerves and Harry, she saw, looked sickly green, while Ron looked pale under his freckles. They crammed their pockets with the last of their sweets and joined the crowd thronging through the corridor.

The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Ally shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students and Ally heard a booming voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?"

A big hairy face beamed at Harry over the sea of heads.

"You know him?" Ally whispered to Harry furiously.

"His name is Hagrid, he gave me my letter and took me to buy my things, we're friends I guess," he whispered back.

"C'mon, follow me– any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Ally thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke, though Neville sniffed once or twice.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."

There was a loud, "Oooooh!"

The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.

"No more'n five to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry, Ally, and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville and Hermione, much to the delight of Ally.

"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then– FORWARD!"

And the fleet of little boats off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.

"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking he boats as people climbed out of them.

"Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands, and Ally patted him on the shoulder. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.

They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.

"Everyone here? You there, still got your toad?"

Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

Ally's POV

The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Ally's first thought was that this was not someone to cross.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

She pulled the doors wide open. The entrance hall was so big, one could fit an entire house inside it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.

The followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Ally could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right –the rest of the school must already be here– but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering around nervously.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Ron's smudged nose. And Ally pulled her long ginger hair into a sleek pony tail, as she bemusedly watched Harry nervously tried to flatten his hair.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."

She left the chamber.

"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" Harry asked Ron.

"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."

"Please," piped up Ally, "don't listen to him Harry, we obviously have no experience whatsoever in performing magic, and the teachers all very well know that, so why would they try to 'test' us, when its only to put us in a House? It probably has something to do with our personality so it's nothing to be worried about."

But she noticed that he wasn't listening to her and was refusing to be anything but terrified at it was annoying her greatly. But looking around she noticed that everyone else looked terrified, too. No one was talking much except Hermione Granger, who was whispering very fast about all the spells she'd learned and wondering which one she'd need; and Ally, who was still voicing the absurdity that the Sorting Ceremony would be anything difficult or painful or even terrifying at all.

Then something happened that made just about everyone jump about a foot in the air– several people screamed.

"What the–?"

Ally gasped. So did the people around them. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance–"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost– I say, what are you all doing here?"

A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.

Nobody answered.

"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"

A few people nodded mutely.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know."

"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.

"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me."

Obeying, Ally got in line behind Ron with Hermione behind her, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

Ally had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. And out of habit, Ally looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. She heard Hermione whisper, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in _Hogwarts, A History." _Making Ally turn to her and grin, "So did I."

It was hard to believe there was ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open on to the heavens.

Ally turned back from an also grinning Hermione as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty.

"Do you think we have to try and pull a rabbit out of it?" Harry whispered. Ally giggled. Then they noticed that everyone in the hall was staring at the hat; they stared at it, too. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth– and the hat began to sing:

_"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I am a Thinking Cap!_

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.

"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered. "I'll kill Fred! He was going on about wrestling a troll!"

Ally turned to him sharply, "I told you!" she whispered to him, "And you wouldn't believe me. Kept going on about _spiders..._"

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moments pause–

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Ally saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.

"Brocklehurst, Mandy," went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender," became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Ally could see what seemed to be Ron's twin brothers catcalling.

"Bulstrode, Millicent," then became a Slytherin.

Oh dear, it was almost her turn.

"Finch–Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Ally began to grow a bit nervous after noticing that for some, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to, for instance, "Finnigan, Seamus," the sandy-haired boy in front of Harry in the line, sat on the stool for almost a full minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.

"Granger, Hermione!"

Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. And Ally smacked Ron as he groaned.

"Hopewell, Allison!"

Ally took a deep breath and bounded up to the stool and clumsily sat on it, already hoping for it to end. She very grateful, in fact, for when the Professor plopped the hat on her head, it drooped over her eyes, obscuring her vision.

_"Hmm..."_ Ally felt a voice whisper in her ear, _"A__ good brain...very studious...clever too...**just like your mother**."_

Ally felt a sharp stab of pain at the memory of her mother, and she tried to focus on the Sorting that was still going on, not the the pain of loss.

_"Oh, what's this... A strong urge to prove yourself. You seem to believe in people very much don't you? And stubborn too!"_ Ally could hear the laugh in the Hat's voice and she coloured._ "Good...good...very good."_

_"You accept all people -animals too- no matter what others seem to tell you. A very Hufflepuff trait. But, I couldn't possible forget your cleverness, now could I? Yes...yes... A very clever girl indeed. You would make a wonderful Ravenclaw, your mother was one too."_

_"But your also very brave, are't you? You've been sheltered all this time and not once did you not try to make a new friend. You handled your mother's passing very well, didn't you? And chivalrous, even helping that Longbottom boy on the train find his toad when you could have been with your new friends, eating candy. You are a very kind person, aren't you? Maybe Gryffindor, like your father, would be better to your taste?" _

**I am not my parents!**_  
_

_"There it is!" _Ally felt the Hat exclaim, _"there's the spark!"_

"GRYFFINDOR!" finally boomed the Hat, and Ally distinctly heard Professor McGonagall remark to her, "Don't worry dear, I got a Hatstall too before the HAt finally put me in Gryffindor."

But Ally wasn't as interested as she normally would have been, she was actually quite drained as she sat down to Hermione on the Gryffindor table among the applause.

"What took you so long?" asked Hermione as she clapped for Neville, who joined them at the Gryffindor table only after jogging back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag."

But Ally shook her head, signalling that she would tell her later.

Soon enough, Ally noticed her favorite cousin's name be called and rolled her eyes as he swaggered up to the Hat and got his wish at once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"

Ally sent him a wave and grin as he went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself, and even returned the favor.

There weren't many people left now. "Moon"…, "Nott"…, "Parkinson"…, then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil"…, then "Perks, Sally-Anne"…, and then, at last–

"Potter, Harry!"

Harry stepped forward, while whispers from all across the hall broke out like little hissing fires.

_"Potter,_ did she say?"

_"The_ Harry Potter?"

It took long enough for the Hat to finally call out "GRYFFINDOR!", nearly as long as Ally, but Hermione had assured her that hers had been longer.

Ally watched sympathetically as he took off the hat and walked shakily toward the Gryffindor table. He seemed to be so relieved , that he hardly noticed that he was getting the loudest cheer yet. Percy the Prefect got up and shook his hand vigorously, while the Weasley twins yelled out, "We got Potter! We got Potter!"

Harry sat down opposite the ghost in the ruff Ally'd seen earlier. The ghost patted his arm, and Harry looked as if he had been plunged into a bucket of ice cold water.

Professor McGonagall waited for the Great Hall to quiet down before calling out the next name.

Ally was now becoming very bored with the Sorting, and aside from Ron's, she had not much to look forward to. She began to observe the teachers at the High Table, there was Dumbledore, the most radiant of them all. Looking down on them as if they were all his children, and he was very pleased. There was Hagrid, the not so frightening, but _very large_ gamekeeper who apparently Harry knew very well. Then there was a nervous looking man wearing the most ridiculous thing Ally had ever seen on his head. Ally stifled a giggle.

And now there were only four people left to be sorted. "Thomas, Dean," a black boy even taller than Ron, joined Ally at the Gryffindor table. "Turpin, Lisa," became a Ravenclaw, and then it was a squirmy Ron's turn. He was sickly green by now. Ally crossed her fingers under the table and a second later the hat had shouted, "GRYFFINFOR!"

The twins clapped loudly with the rest as Ron collapsed into a chair next to Harry.

"Well done, Ron, excellent," said Percy Weasley pompously across Harry as "Zabini, Blaise," was made a Slytherin.

Ally looked down at her empty gold plate, as her stomach rumbled and she realized how hungry she really was. The chocolate frogs seemed ages ago.

Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.

"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered.

And Ally laughed as Harry asked Percy uncertainly,"Is he– a bit mad?"

"Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?"

Ally grinned at the food and began to pile her plate with mashed potatoes, two slices of turkey, and corn on the cob. She dug in happily, a reaching for her goblet, took a sip of pumpkin juice; which was surprisingly tasty.

She noticed Harry piling so much food on his plate an digging into it so hungrily that she just had to poke at him.

"Slow down, Harry, you don't want to get heart burn at such a young age." But to her amusement, he didn't hear, he was much to busy slurpign down the pumpkin juice she had only taken a sip of earlier.

"That does look good," said the ghost in the ruff sadly, watching Harry cut up his steak.

"Can't you–?"

"I haven't eaten for nearly five hundred years," said the ghost. "I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower."

"I know who you are!" said Ron suddenly. "My brothers told me about you– you're Nearly Headless Nick!"

"Ron don't be rude!" chided Ally, sending an apologetic smile at the ghost.

"I would _prefer_ if you call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy–" the ghost began stiffly, but sandy-haired Seamus Finnigan interrupted.

_"Nearly_ Headless? How can you be _nearly_ headless?"

Sir Nicholas looked extremely miffed, as if their little chat wasn't going at all the way he wanted.

"Like _this," _he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly. Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces, Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back onto his neck, coughed, and said, "So– new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year? Gryffindors have gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row. The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable– he's the Slytherin ghost."

Ally didn't have to look to know that he, would most certainly be, very bloody.

"How did he get covered in blood?" asked Seamus with great interest.

"I've never asked," said Nearly Headless Nick delicately.

When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparking clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor imaginable, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-o, rice pudding…

As the Ally helped herself to a slice of apple pie, the talk turned to families.

"I'm half-and-half," said Seamus. "Me dad's a Muggle. Mum didn't tell him she was a witch until after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him when he found out."

The others laughed.

"What about you, Neville?" said Ron.

"Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville, "but the family thought I was all-Muggle for ages. My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off guard and force some magic out of me –he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned– but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came around for diner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by my ankles when my Great Aunt Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let me go. But I bounced – all the way down the garden and into the street. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here– they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad."

"That's wonderful Neville," said Ally, "and I'm so glad that you could finally find you're toad." Neville blushed.

"T-thanks again Ally," he stuttered, "y-you a-and Hermione were a great help."

There was a pause, "W-what about you, A-Ally?"

Ally, became a bit flustered, and was thankful for the interruption when Harry said, "Ouch!" and clapped his hand to to his head.

"What is it?" asked Percy.

"Are you alright?" asked Ally, feeling a little guilty.

"N–Nothing." Harry said.

"Say Percy," Harry said, "who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?"

"Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to– everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape."

"Are you sure you're alright Harry," added Ally, "you look a bit pale."

But Harry only said, "I'm fine."

At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent.

"Ahem– just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.

"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.

"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Harry laughed, but he was some of the few that did.

"He's not serious?" Harry muttered to Percy.

"Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere– the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least."

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. And Ally noticed that the other teacher's smiles had become very fixed.

Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.

"Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and away we go!"

And the school bellowed,

"_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,_

_Teach us something please,_

_Whether we be old and bald_

_Or young with scabby knees,_

_Our heads could do with filling_

_With some interesting stuff,_

_For now they're bare and full of air,_

_Dead flies and bits of fluff,_

_So teach us things worth knowing,_

_Bring back what we've forgot,_

_Just do your best, we'll do the rest,_

_And learn until our brains all rot."_

Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.

"Ah music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

The Gryffindor first years followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircases. Ally kept bumping into people, but only because she was so tired and full of food. They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet, and Ally just about to fall asleep on a blushing Harry's shoulder before they came to a sudden halt.

A bundle of walking sticks was floating in midair ahead of them, and as Percy took a step toward them they started throwing themselves at him.

"Peeves," Percy whispered to the first years. "A poltergeist." He raised his voice, "Peeves– show yourself."

A loud, rude sound like the air being let out of a balloon, answered.

"Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?"

There was a pop, and a little man with wicked, dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared, floating cross-legged in the air, clutching the walking sticks.

"Oooooooh!" he said, with an evil cackle. "Ickle Firsties! What fun!"

He swooped suddenly at them. They all ducked.

"Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" barked Percy.

Peeves stuck out his tongue and vanished, dropping the walking sticks on Neville's head. They heard him zooming away, rattling coats of armor as he passed.

"You want to watch out for Peeves," said Percy, as they set off again. "The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects. Here we are."

At the very end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.

"Password?" she asked.

"Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it –Neville needed a leg up– and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs surrounding a grand fireplace, where a roaring fire was blazing.

Percy directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and the boys through another. At the top of a spiral staircase –they were obviously in one of the towers– they found their beds at last: five four posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up. Too tired to talk much, they pulled on their pajamas and fell into bed.

Ally was already dozing off into a deep sleep when Hermione whispered, "Goodnight Ally."

"Goodnight, 'Mione."

* * *

**A/N:**

Hey guys! Ally got Sorted into Gryffindor! I recently noticed that, I haven't been doing the disclaimer so I am going to do it now, and only once, so, I guess this counts for the rest of the story.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the series, it all belongs to the wonderful JK Rowling. I only own Ally and her Mom and Dad, and owl. **

There it is! I would also like to dedicate this chapter to all of you who have read and followed and favorited and reviewed. It ALWAYS makes my day. I would also like to mention a few of you who are really special (in no particular order):

Not-A-Spy

BlueGreen216

OpenBookLina

lostfeather1

I am really proud of this chapter, as it is longer than the others and I hope you like it.

Love you guys! And Review!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3

Ally's POV

Ally was officially _'ticked off'_.

Ever since she and Hermione had left for breakfast that morning, annoying little whispers filled the corridors. People were lining up outside the classrooms and standing on their tip toes to glance at _him_, they would double back if they passed _him_ in the corridors, tripping her and Hermione because they were too busy trying to look at _Harry Potter._

Now, normally this wouldn't bother her, she didn't care that all the attention was on him, or that he was all the school could talk about. But when one has to concentrate on finding their way to classes and memorize all the different one hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts, and the majority of the school is crowding around one your classmates it becomes annoying.

She got lost. Twice.

Not only that, but there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot. The people in the portraits kept going to visit each other, and Ally was certain the coats of armor could walk, she was sure she had spotted one on her way to Transfiguration.

The ghosts didn't help, either. It was always a nasty shock when one of them glided suddenly through a door you were trying to open. Sir Nicholas, who was always happy to point new Gryffindors in the right direction, was a doll compared to Peeves the Poltergeist who was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase if you met him when you were late for class. He would drop wastepaper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk, or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose, and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!" By the end of the week Ally was sure Peeves was out to get her.

Even worse than Peeves, if that was possible, was the caretaker, Argus Filch. Filch owned a cat called Mrs. Norris, a scrawny, dust-colored creature with bulging, lamp like eyes just like Filch's. She patrolled the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she'd whisk off for Filch, who'd appear, wheezing, two seconds later. Filch knew the secret passageways of the school better than anyone (except perhaps the Weasley twins) and could pop up as suddenly as any of the ghosts. The students all hated him, and it was the dearest ambition of many to give Mrs. Norris a good kick. Especially Ally, who on just the first day had to rescue her poor (and very badly beaten) owl, Monty, from the clutches of Mrs. Norris; and she would have given her a well deserved kick, if it not were for Hermione who pulled her away just in time.

And then, once you had managed to find them, there were the classes themselves.

They had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets. Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a sweet little witch called Professor Sprout, where they learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi, and found out what they were used for.

Easily the most boring class for almost all the students (except for maybe Ally) was History of Magic, which was the only one taught by a ghost. Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff room fire and got up next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him. Binns droned on and on while they scribbled down names and dates, and got Emetic the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up.

Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. At the start of their  
first class he took the roll call, and when he reached Harry's name he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight; much to the amusement of the whole class.

Professor McGonagall was again different. Strict and clever, she gave them a talking-to the moment they sat down in her first class.

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again. They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but they soon realized they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time. After taking a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, only Ally and Hermione had made any difference to their matches; Professor McGonagall showed the class how Hermione's had gone all silver and pointy and how Ally's had turned metal and thin, and gave them both a rare smile.

The class everyone had really been looking forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts, but to extreme Ally's disappointment, Quirrell's lessons turned out to be a bit of a joke. His classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days. His turban, he told them, had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie, but they weren't sure they believed this story.

For one thing, when Seamus Finnigan asked eagerly to hear how Quirrell had fought off the zombie, Quirrell went pink and started talking about the weather; for another, Ally had noticed that a rancid smell hung around the turban, and the Weasley twins insisted that it was stuffed full of garlic as well, so that Quirrell was protected wherever he went.

Friday was an interesting day for Ally. She had Double Potions later on with the Slytherins, and she was keen on proving herself to the one teacher who she heard was the most difficult and least liked; but she didn't let anything that anyone else told her make her opinion biased. She wanted to for herself if Professor Snape really was the "slimy greasy-haired git" that everyone made him out to be.

Just as she was mentally preparing herself for any surprise questions that the Professor might ask, the mail arrived. Ally was used to owls delivering the post since she was small, but it had given her a bit of a shock on the first morning, when about a hundred owls had suddenly streamed into the Great Hall during breakfast, circling the tables until they saw their owners, and dropping letters and packages onto their laps.

Monty had only brought two letters so far. One was an awkward letter of congratulation from her Dad on making Gryffindor; and the other was one from her former governess, Daisy, who she still kept in touch with. But most of the time, Monty just flew in to steal her toast or land on her head and pick at her hair, pulling strands out of the neat and sleek ponytail she always kept it in.

"Stop it you bothersome bird," said Ally, waving away Monty, who was perched quite comfortably on her head; as Hermione giggled at her predicament.

"Oi!" Ally glared at Hermione, "A little help here?"

Soon after lunch, Ally and Hermione made their way to the dungeons for Double Potions with the Slytherins and their fellow Gryffindors. Although it was colder there than up in the main castle, and would have been creepy enough without the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls, Ally found the Potions classroom..._charming._

Professor Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the roll call, and like Flitwick, he paused at Harry's name.

"Ah, Yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new - celebrity."

Ally rolled her eyes playfully as her cousin and his daft looking friends Crabbe and Goyle sniggered behind their hands. Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class. His eyes were black and were cold and empty, which made you thing of dark tunnels. But to Ally, they just seemed terribly sad; remarkably, especially when he looked at her.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," he began.

He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word - like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort.

"As there is little foolish wand-waving in here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

More silence followed this little speech. Harry and Ron exchanged looks with raised eyebrows. Hermione was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead, and Ally was trying not to break out into a smile.  
"Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

_"A sleeping potion so powerful it is called the Draught of Living Death."_Ally recited in head as she took out a piece of parchment and her gold tipped quill to begin writing down the question the Professor had asked and the answer she knew -it would surely serve as valuable notes sometime in the future. But unlike Ally, Hermione's hand had shot into the air.

"I don't know, sir," said Harry.

Snape's lips curled into a sneer.

"Tut, tut - fame clearly isn't everything."

He ignored Hermione's hand.

"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me  
a bezoar?"

_"A bezoar is a stone found in the stomach of a goat, and will save you from most poisons."_Ally continued to write while Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat.

"I don't know, sir."

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?"

Snape was still ignoring Hermione's quivering hand.

"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

_"They are the same plant which also goes by the name of aconite."_At this, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling and Ally was just about to tug it down, when Harry, decided to suddenly become a smart aleck.

"I don't know," said Harry quietly. "I think Hermione does, though, why  
don't you try her?"

A few people laughed; Harry caught Seamus's eye, and Seamus winked.  
Snape, however, was not pleased.

"Sit down," he snapped at Hermione, and Ally had to pat her shoulder comfortingly as she sat down quickly, flushing with humiliation.

"For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"

There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. Over the noise, Snape said, "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter."

Snape swept back to the front of the classroom and sat down at his desk. He glanced at all of the students before his eyes fell on Ally, who was the only one not writing. He let out a barely noticeable sigh, and made his way to the table she shared with Hermione. His dark, sneering figure cast a shadow over her notes and Ally looked up, noticeably surprised.

"Ms. Hopewell," he began softly, "why is it that you are the only of your classmates not writing?"

Ally cleared her throat slightly, feeling the stares of said classmates on her and Snape, and said to him a bit fearfully "I've already written them sir." you could hear a pin drop from how quiet it was in the classroom, and Ally tried to use some more of that Gryffindor courage the Hat had talked about and tried again.

"The answers, sir." she elaborated for Snape who looked a tad confused.

That confusion quickly dissolved into another sneer as he roughly picked up her notes from the desk she and Hermione shared, and he scanned it rapidly, looking it up and down. His eyes seemed to soften and they twinkled with recognition and strange sort of familiarity appeared in his eyes as well. To Ally he looked incredibly sad, even more so when he looked at her. He sighed quietly, and Ally could have sworn she him whisper, _"Lily," _but before she could register it the soft lookwas gone as quickly as it came, and his eyes hardened and he once again sported a sneer Ally was sure was signature.

"Very well then," he sneered at Ally, but to her it looked fake, "five points _to Gryffindor_ for correctly answering the questions that your classmate could not, without showing off." Snape looked rather pointedly at Hermione, and then swept back to his desk; his robes billowing out behind him.

The Gryffindors and Slytherins were in such a shock that they couldn't even react to the blatant insult Snape had clearly thrown at Hermione, for there had never been a time that Snape ever awarded points _to_Gryffindor; much less a first year. What had changed?

Things became stranger from there. Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. Ally paired up with Hermione, and to her secret delight; found the one subject she wasn't a wiz in. But Ally was. She seemed to have a special touch for brewing potions, unlike Hermione who it was soon decided would be the one to pass Ally the ingredients and give the directions (as well as unnecessary and lengthy tidbits on all she could). They not only finished first of the class, but also received the best results; and both were very happy with the arrangement they had decided on. They (Ally with Hermione's assistance) had brewed the perfect Cure for Boils.

Not even Snape had anything bad to say about it, not even his favorite student, Draco, produced such excellent results. And another miracle occurred. He reluctantly gave Gryffindor another five points, and resorted to glaring at Ally's cousin for the rest of the class as if blaming him for not procuring a better potion than Ally's and not winning Slytherin the five points.

But after that, things went downhill from there, as other students, did not have such luck or skill. Clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon when Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools, while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.

"Idiot boy!" snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"

Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose.

"Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus. Then he rounded on Harry and Ron, who had been working next to Neville.

"You - Potter - why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor."

This was so unfair that Ally nearly said something, but stopped herself, thinking of how rude it would be and the points she would lose. Besides, it wouldn't do her any good to give Snape any reason to hate her, after all she was the only Gryffindor he seemed to like, and that was already reason enough.

But as she climbed the steps out of the dungeons with a chatty Hermione by her side an hour later, Ally's mind was numb and her spirits were high. She'd won ten points for Gryffindor in her very first week _and_ they were from Snape.

And then there was the look he gave her, it all had happened so fast she was sure she imagine it; but the ten points she had earned were proof, that Snape certainly did see her somewhat differently than all the other Gryffindors.

But what could it be?

Why did he always look so sad whenever he looked at her?

Why did he treat her differently?

And who was 'Lily' ?

* * *

**A/N:**

**So Ally looks kind of like a young Lily Evans, how fun! AND she's good at potions just like she was. It'll be interesting to see how that will play out in later years... Thanks so much to ALL my reviewers, but a super special shout out to channsan! You are the best! I love you and your reviews as well as your story 'Suddenly'! People, go check that out, it is awesome!**

**Thanks also to my new beta reader Her-My-Oh-Knee for helping with this chapter!**

**I look forward to your reviews, happy reading!**

**~Vera**


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